أشاقك من حسناء وهناً طُروقُها

أشاقك من حسناء وهناً طُروقُها

نعم كُلُّ حاجاتِ النفوس يشوقُها

نعم كُلُّ حاجاتِ النفوس يشوقُها

Has a fair one stirred your longing, though faint was her coming by night?

Did a beauty's late-night coming stir your longing?

Yes—all the soul's desires yearn for her.

Yes; whatever souls desire awakens their longing.

سرت أَمماً والأرضُ شحطٌ مزارُها

سرت أَمماً والأرضُ شحطٌ مزارُها

كثيرٌ عواديها قليلٌ رفيقُها

كثيرٌ عواديها قليلٌ رفيقُها

She journeyed before you, though the land set her dwelling far away,

She journeyed close at hand, though the land was far to reach,

its assailants many and its companions few.

its dangers many, her companions few.

تَخفَّى وما إن يكتم الليلُ بدرَه

تَخفَّى وما إن يكتم الليلُ بدرَه

وهل فارةٌ فُضّت بخافٍ فتيقُها

وهل فارةٌ فُضّت بخافٍ فتيقُها

She hides, yet night can never hide its full moon;

She hides herself, yet night cannot conceal its full moon.

can a musk-pod, once burst, conceal its fragrance?

And can the opening of a split musk-pod be hidden?

لعمر الكرى ما شاء ما شبَّه الكرى

لعمر الكرى ما شاء ما شبَّه الكرى

هلالٌ محيّاها وصهباءُ ريقُها

هلالٌ محيّاها وصهباءُ ريقُها

By my life, sleep fashioned whatever likeness it willed in dream:

By slumber's life, it pictured whatever it wished:

the crescent of her face and the tawny wine of her mouth.

her face a crescent, her saliva tawny wine.

يمثّل حسناء الخيالُ لمغرمٍ

يمثّل حسناء الخيالُ لمغرمٍ

حبيبٍ إليه زُورها وحقيقُها

حبيبٍ إليه زُورها وحقيقُها

Imagination's phantom presents a beauty to an ardent lover;

Imagination conjures a beauty for a lover

dear to him are both its illusion and its truth.

to whom her illusion and her reality are dear.

حلفتُ لواشيها ليزدادَ غيظه

حلفتُ لواشيها ليزدادَ غيظه

عليَّ وخيرُ المقسمين صدوقُها

عليَّ وخيرُ المقسمين صدوقُها

She swore to her informer, that his rancor might increase

I swore to her slanderer, to increase his rage

against me—and best among oath-takers is she who keeps her oath.

against me—and the best of oath-takers are truthful—

لئن ضرّني بالهجر أني أسيرها

لئن ضرّني بالهجر أني أسيرها

لما سرّني بالغدر أني طليقُها

لما سرّني بالغدر أني طليقُها

Though she hurt me by desertion, since I am her captive,

even if it hurts me, through desertion, to be her captive,

she would not delight me by betrayal, though it would free me of her.

it would not delight me, through betrayal, to be free of her.

أرى كبدي للشوق أنّى تنسَّمتْ

أرى كبدي للشوق أنّى تنسَّمتْ

رياحُ النّعامى غَضُّها ووريقُها

رياحُ النّعامى غَضُّها ووريقُها

I see my liver, from longing, whenever the breezes

I see my liver, in longing, wherever there breathe

of al-Naʿām breathe through its groves and tender leaves,

the south winds—its tender growth and foliage—

فريقين عند الحاجبيّة باللوى

فريقين عند الحاجبيّة باللوى

فريقٌ وعندي بالعراق فريقُها

فريقٌ وعندي بالعراق فريقُها

split in two at al-Hajibiyya amid the winding sands:

split in two: at al-Hajibiyya in al-Liwa

one part there, the other with me in Iraq.

one part, and with me in Iraq its other part.

وأتبع ذكراها إذا اعترض اسمُها

وأتبع ذكراها إذا اعترض اسمُها

وإن فترت أحشاؤها لي وموقُها

وإن فترت أحشاؤها لي وموقُها

I follow her memory whenever her name crosses my path,

And I follow remembrance of her, whenever her name appears,

though her heart and the tear duct of her eye have grown languid toward me.

even if her inward feelings and her eye have cooled toward me,

شرارة قلبٍ ليس يخفَى حريقُه

شرارة قلبٍ ليس يخفَى حريقُه

وزحمة عين ليس يطفو غريقُها

وزحمة عين ليس يطفو غريقُها

A spark from a heart that cannot hide its burning,

with a spark from a heart whose burning cannot be hidden,

and a press of tears in an eye whose drowned one never floats.

and a surge in an eye whose drowned one never surfaces.

وكم مسحتْ يوماً على السّبْق غُرَّتي

وكم مسحتْ يوماً على السّبْق غُرَّتي

وقد عزَّ حلباتِ الوفاء سَبوقُها

وقد عزَّ حلباتِ الوفاء سَبوقُها

How often, while holding the lead, I smoothed my forelock,

How often she once stroked my brow for coming first,

when on fidelity's racecourses a frontrunner was hard to find.

when fidelity's champion had mastered its racecourses.

عذيريَ من قلبٍ صحيحٍ ألوفةٍ

عذيريَ من قلبٍ صحيحٍ ألوفةٍ

وإخوانِ عِلّاتٍ كثيرٍ خروقُها

وإخوانِ عِلّاتٍ كثيرٍ خروقُها

Who will excuse me for a heart sound and true in its affections,

Who will plead my case against a sound, devoted heart,

and half-brothers whose breaches of faith are many?

and flawed brethren whose rents are many,

ودنيا خداعٍ كالقذاة بمقلتي

ودنيا خداعٍ كالقذاة بمقلتي

وإن ملأتها من جمالٍ يروقُها

وإن ملأتها من جمالٍ يروقُها

And for a deceitful world, like a mote in my eye,

and a deceitful world, like a mote in my eye,

though you filled it with beauty that pleases them.

though it fills that eye with beauty that delights it?

متى كنتُ في شرط الأمانيّ عبدَها

متى كنتُ في شرط الأمانيّ عبدَها

فإني على شرط العفاف عتيقُها

فإني على شرط العفاف عتيقُها

When were you ever, on the terms set by wishes, their slave?

Whenever, under the terms of hopes, I am their slave,

On chastity's terms, I am their freedman.

under the terms of chastity I am their freedman.

وأعلم منها أين تُمطرُ سُحبُها

وأعلم منها أين تُمطرُ سُحبُها

فلا تخدعنّي بالخلاب بروقُها

فلا تخدعنّي بالخلاب بروقُها

I know from it where its clouds will rain,

And I know where its clouds let fall their rain,

so its rainless lightning cannot deceive me.

so let its lightning not deceive me with false promise.

وعاذلةٍ قالت رُمِ الحظَّ تلقه

وعاذلةٍ قالت رُمِ الحظَّ تلقه

وما كلُّ طَلّاب الحظوظ لَحوقُها

وما كلُّ طَلّاب الحظوظ لَحوقُها

A reproachful woman said, “Seek fortune and you will meet it”;

And a reproaching woman said: Seek fortune; you will find it.

yet not every pursuit of fortunes overtakes them.

But not every seeker of fortunes overtakes them.

قضت عادةُ الأيّام أن صريحَها

قضت عادةُ الأيّام أن صريحَها

قليلٌ إذا درّتْ وعزّ مَذيقُها

قليلٌ إذا درّتْ وعزّ مَذيقُها

The custom of days has decreed that their pure milk,

The custom of the days has decreed that their pure milk

when they yield, is scant—and even their watered milk is rare.

is scant when they yield, and even their watered milk is scarce.

فناشطها في غالب الأمر مجدبٌ

فناشطها في غالب الأمر مجدبٌ

خميصٌ ويرعاها بطيناً ربيقُها

خميصٌ ويرعاها بطيناً ربيقُها

Their eager pursuer is, more often than not, barren,

So their free-roaming beast is, for the most part, pastureless,

lean, while the one tethered to them grazes full-bellied.

hollow-bellied, while their tethered one grazes there potbellied.

أفي هذه الأشباح أهلٌ لمطلب

أفي هذه الأشباح أهلٌ لمطلب

عفيف أبت أخلاقها وفسوقُها

عفيف أبت أخلاقها وفسوقُها

Is there among these people anyone fit for a chaste quest?

Is anyone among these figures worthy of a request

Their character and their profligacy alike refuse.

that is honorable? Their character and debauchery forbid it.

رعَى اللّه آمالاً إليهم بعثتها

رعَى اللّه آمالاً إليهم بعثتها

ضياعاً كأني في الفرات أريقُها

ضياعاً كأني في الفرات أريقُها

May God watch over the hopes I sent to them,

May God watch over hopes I sent toward them,

lost—as though I had poured them into the Euphrates.

to be wasted, as though I were pouring them into the Euphrates.

إذا كان سعدٌ وهو أكرم من مشت

إذا كان سعدٌ وهو أكرم من مشت

به وله أيدي الركاب وسُوقُها

به وله أيدي الركاب وسُوقُها

If even Saʿd—the noblest man ever borne along

If Sa'd—the most generous of men ever borne along

by the forelegs and shanks of riding camels, all traveling for his sake—

by the camels' forelegs and shanks, traveling for him—

نبا وقسا على القوافي فؤادُه

نبا وقسا على القوافي فؤادُه

فمن بعدَهُ حنّانُها وشفيقُها

فمن بعدَهُ حنّانُها وشفيقُها

recoils, and his heart hardens against rhymed verse,

has a heart that recoils from rhymes and hardens against them,

then who after him will show it tenderness and compassion?

who after him will be their tender, compassionate friend?

لمن تُبضَع الأشعار يرجَى نَفاقُها

لمن تُبضَع الأشعار يرجَى نَفاقُها

إذا كسدت يا سعدُ عندك سُوقها

إذا كسدت يا سعدُ عندك سُوقها

For whom shall poems be offered as wares, in hope they will sell,

To whom can poems be consigned, hoping they will sell,

if their market stagnates with you, O Saʿd?

if, Sa'd, their market stagnates with you?

إذا أقصِيتْ في العرب يوماً وأهملت

إذا أقصِيتْ في العرب يوماً وأهملت

ففي العجم تُرعَى ليت شعري حقوقُها

ففي العجم تُرعَى ليت شعري حقوقُها

If one day I am cast out among the Arabs and neglected,

If one day among the Arabs they are cast aside and neglected,

will my poetry's rights be tended among the Persians, I wonder?

then among the non-Arabs are their rights respected? Would that I knew!

لئن كنتَ نشئاً أو لساناً عدوَّها

لئن كنتَ نشئاً أو لساناً عدوَّها

فإنك علماً وانتساباً صديقُها

فإنك علماً وانتساباً صديقُها

Though you are foreign in upbringing, or your tongue is Arabic's foe,

Though by upbringing or language you are their enemy,

in learning and lineage you are surely its friend.

by learning and lineage you are their friend.

ألست الذي عزَّت عليه قصائدي

ألست الذي عزَّت عليه قصائدي

كما قيل حتى ليس شيءٌ يفوقُها

كما قيل حتى ليس شيءٌ يفوقُها

Are you not the one to whom my odes became precious,

Are you not the man who held my poems so dear,

until, as people said, nothing surpassed them?

as was said, that nothing could surpass them?

وأعطيتني عذراءَ نعمى هنيئة

وأعطيتني عذراءَ نعمى هنيئة

متى كُتمتْ فاشهد بأني سَروقُها

متى كُتمتْ فاشهد بأني سَروقُها

You gave me an untouched maiden-gift of bounty, wholesome to enjoy;

And you gave me a virgin blessing, delightful,

if ever I conceal it, bear witness that I stole it.

whenever it is concealed, testify that I am its thief.

إلى أن توهّمت الليالي قد ارعوت

إلى أن توهّمت الليالي قد ارعوت

لتُرقَعَ من جدواك عندي فُتوقُها

لتُرقَعَ من جدواك عندي فُتوقُها

Until I fancied the nights had indeed relented

Until I thought the nights had relented,

and would patch, with your bounty, the rents they tore in me.

so their rents might be patched for me with your bounty.

وقلتُ أمانٍ قد أقرّت نَوارها

وقلتُ أمانٍ قد أقرّت نَوارها

به ودنت من مجتناي سَحوقها

به ودنت من مجتناي سَحوقها

I said, “Safety at last! Its skittish creatures have settled,

And I said: Hopes have brought their shy ones to rest

and through him its lofty palms bent within the gatherers' reach.”

through him, and their towering palms have drawn near my gathering reach.

بسعدٍ هوت عنقاؤها فتحكَّمي

بسعدٍ هوت عنقاؤها فتحكَّمي

مُرادكِ يا نفسي وباضَ أَنوقُها

مُرادكِ يا نفسي وباضَ أَنوقُها

Through Saʿd its phoenix descended; take command now,

Through Sa'd their phoenix has descended; so impose

my soul, of your desire—and even some of its impossibilities.

your will, my soul—their vulture has laid eggs.

ولم يك فيها غير باعثِ نعمةٍ

ولم يك فيها غير باعثِ نعمةٍ

لعاقلها بالشكر من لا يموقُها

لعاقلها بالشكر من لا يموقُها

There was in it none but a bestower of bounty upon me;

And in them there was nothing but a giver of blessing

whoever binds it fast with gratitude does not mishandle it foolishly.

to one who binds it with thanks and does not treat it foolishly.

مَن الشعراءُ القائمون مَقاوِمي

مَن الشعراءُ القائمون مَقاوِمي

لديك ومَن ذا إن سكتُّ نطوقُها

لديك ومَن ذا إن سكتُّ نطوقُها

Who among the poets can stand in my place

Which poets can stand where I stand

before you, and who, if I fall silent, will give it voice?

before you? And who, if I am silent, can give poetry a voice?

مجالسُ تُخلَى لي بحقٍّ صدورُها

مجالسُ تُخلَى لي بحقٍّ صدورُها

وأرضٌ يخلَّى لي بسيفٍ طريقُها

وأرضٌ يخلَّى لي بسيفٍ طريقُها

Assemblies whose rightful seats of honor were cleared for me,

Gatherings whose foremost seats are cleared for me by right,

and a land whose road was opened for me by the sword;

and a land whose road is cleared for me by a sword.

وأنت وإن هجنتها العامَ شاهدٌ

وأنت وإن هجنتها العامَ شاهدٌ

لها كيف يأتي حلوُها ورشيقُها

لها كيف يأتي حلوُها ورشيقُها

and you—though this year you disparaged it—are witness

And you, though you disparaged them this year, are a witness

to how sweetly and gracefully it comes.

for them to how their sweet and graceful verses emerge.

وكم طرِبٍ لي وهو يُنشِد نفسَه

وكم طرِبٍ لي وهو يُنشِد نفسَه

إلى الحول يصبو نحوَها ويتوقُها

إلى الحول يصبو نحوَها ويتوقُها

How often he delighted in my verse, reciting it to himself

And many a man delights in me as he recites to himself,

for a whole year, yearning toward it and longing for it.

for a whole year, yearning toward them and longing for them.

يكاد بما تحلو وتصفو لسمعه

يكاد بما تحلو وتصفو لسمعه

ينضُّ لساناً نحوها يستذيقُها

ينضُّ لساناً نحوها يستذيقُها

So sweet and pure is it to his hearing that he almost

So sweet and clear are they to his ear that he almost

sprouts another tongue toward it, with which to savor it.

puts out his tongue toward them, seeking to taste them.

عدوُّك مثلي يوم آبتْ خفائفاً

عدوُّك مثلي يوم آبتْ خفائفاً

قِلاصُ المطايا من رسومي ونوقُها

قِلاصُ المطايا من رسومي ونوقُها

May your enemy be as I was the day there returned, lightly laden,

May your enemy fare as I did when, lightly laden, there returned

the camel-train's young and full-grown she-camels, bearing only my writings.

the young riding-camels and she-camels, back from seeking my customary dues.

مددتُ لها كفي فلمّا ثنيتُها

مددتُ لها كفي فلمّا ثنيتُها

على اليأس ما إن كدت ردّاً أطيقُها

على اليأس ما إن كدت ردّاً أطيقُها

I held out my palm for it; but when I folded it back,

I stretched out my palm toward them, but when I drew it back

in despair, I could scarcely make it bear my cloak.

in despair, I could scarcely bear to withdraw it.

فيا خجلةً في خيبة فاض وَرْسُها

فيا خجلةً في خيبة فاض وَرْسُها

حياءً بما خابت وغاض خَلوقُها

حياءً بما خابت وغاض خَلوقُها

O what shame in disappointment! Its saffron stain overflowed,

Oh, shame amid disappointment: its yellow dye overflowed

abashed at its failure, while its saffron perfume ebbed.

with shame at its failure, while its saffron perfume ebbed.

ويا طرفةً في مقلةٍ ذاب لو جرى

ويا طرفةً في مقلةٍ ذاب لو جرى

على الخدّ خلطاً دُرّها وعقيقُها

على الخدّ خلطاً دُرّها وعقيقُها

And what a marvel in an eye: what melted for me flowed

And oh, a marvel within an eye! They would melt if they flowed

down the cheek as a mingling of its pearls and its carnelian.

mingled down the cheek—its pearls and carnelian.

سأخطو إليك الحادثاتِ ولو غدت

سأخطو إليك الحادثاتِ ولو غدت

تلوح سيوفاً لم يرعني بريقُها

تلوح سيوفاً لم يرعني بريقُها

I shall stride toward you through calamities, even if they become

I shall stride across calamities toward you, even if they become

flashing swords—their gleam will not frighten me.

flashing swords; their glitter will not frighten me.

وأهجرُ أرضاً أسلمتني وهادُها

وأهجرُ أرضاً أسلمتني وهادُها

عساه بقربي منك يعصِمُ نِيقُها

عساه بقربي منك يعصِمُ نِيقُها

And I shall forsake a land whose valleys abandoned me,

And I shall leave a land whose lowlands forsook me;

hoping that, through my nearness to you, its mountain peaks may shelter me.

perhaps its summit will protect me through my nearness to you.

سيوسعها لي حسنُ رأيك آجلاً

سيوسعها لي حسنُ رأيك آجلاً

فلا يحرجنّي عاجلاً منك ضيقُها

فلا يحرجنّي عاجلاً منك ضيقُها

Your good opinion will one day make it spacious for me;

Your favorable regard will widen it for me in time,

so let not its present narrowness bar me from you.

so let its narrowness at your hands not constrain me now.